Pipe-wrench.



P. J. MoGUIRE.

PIPE WRENCH.

APPLICATION mum 8EPT.13, mo;

1,001,423, Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

III

I N V E N TO I? Palh'al LIT/7 6341 ATTORNEYS WITNE888 COLUMBIA PLANOfllIAHI CO-IWASMIMTONI D. C.

PATRICK JOS. MCGUIRE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIPE-WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

Application filed September 13, 1910. Serial No. 581,856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK J. ll'lCGUIRE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pipe-Wrench, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention is an improvement in pipe wrenches such as embody a flexible gripping member, ordinarily in the form of a chain at the end of a lever, and has in view such a wrench in which substantially no travel of the lever is required to draw the gripping member tight about the pipe or fitting after the said member is applied, and which effectively grips the pipe or fitting for substantially the full circumference.

The invention has further in view a pipe wrench in which the flexible gripping member is not locked on the pipe, but can be instantly removed when the lever is released; also a wrench of this character which can be used in relatively close places and to engage relatively narrow surfaces, and, further, in which the flexible member only engages the article gripped and serves as a bearing or fulcrum for the head or jaw of the lever, whereby the latter does not operate to mar the surface of the pipe or other article.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a side view, partly in section, of a pipe wrench as applied to a pipe, constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the head of the Wrench and attached flexible gripping member; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, on a reduced scale, of a modified form of the wrench.

The construction of the wrench as disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, embodies an operating lever having a handle 5 and a head 6, the head having a screw-threaded socket into which the handle is threaded, the handle having a conical portion 7 adjoining its threaded end, which bindingly fits in a counterpart portion at the mouth of the socket, this manner of uniting the handle and head of the lever affording a firm and relatively strong connection between them,

causing the lever to be firmly bound in the socket. The head (3 beyond the socket is transversely slotted, and beyond the slot the head is provided with a gripping jaw 8, the latterpreferablyhaving teeth 9 at the opposite sides adjoining the opposite ends of the slot. A fulcrum pin 10 passes transversely through the head and slot and serves to carry a yoke 11, which is of sufficient width and length at the inner portion to swing over the end and at the outer side of the gripping jaw, the end of the yoke being slightly contracted in width, as best shown in Fig. 2, where its arms are connected together by a pin 19, which pin also connects between the arms, a flexible gripping member, ordinarily in the form of a chain 13. The links of each chain are each usually made up of two or more parallel link plates, the plates of each link alternating with the plates of the adjacent link at the pivot pin. Ordinarily, in the chain construction a link of two plates will alternate with a link of three plates. This, however, may be modified, as desired. The edges of the link plates of each link, and at each side of the link, are serrated to form gripping teeth 14-, which teeth are shown to be the counterpart of the teeth 9 of the grip ping jaw S.

In Fig. 4; l have shown a modified form of the invention, in which the yoke 11 instead of being arranged at the outside of the wrench head, is placed on the pivot pin 10 within the slot of the head, this form of the invention being particularly desirable where the wrench is to operate on very narrow surfaces.

In the use of the wrench, the flexible gripping member or chain is passed about the pipe or other article to be gripped, in a direction so that the free end of the chain will pass under the gripping jaw and outwardly through the yoke, as illustrated in Fig. 1.. The handle is moved inwardly until the chain is close to the pipe, when the teeth of the jaw are engaged with the teeth of the chain. \Vith the wrench thus applied, the chain is in contact with the pipe for substantially its full circumference, and when the lever is raised it will commence immediately to turn the pipe, since there is no lost motion to be taken up, which is the case in the ordinary chain pipe wrench. .As the jaw 8 bears directly on the chain when turning the pipe or fitting, the fitting will not be marred by the j aw. It will be noted that providing the chain with gripping teeth at each side not only adapts the chain to be reversed, whereby the pipe or other article can be turned in either direction, but also causes the pipe to be securely engaged. Thus, one set of teeth will at all times be presented to the pipe or fitting, and the other set to the gripping jaw.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In a pipe Wrench, a lever, a'removable head on said lever, a yoke pivoted to said head and adapted to swing on either side of the same, flexible gripping means pivoted to said yoke, teeth on opposite sides of said gripping means and adapted to pass about an article to be gripped and back through said yoke, and teeth on opposite sides of said head engaging the teeth on said gripping means, whereby a leverage is produced by said head engaging said gripping means, and whereby the teeth on one side of said flexible gripping means will be in engagement with the article to be gripped, and teeth on the opposite side of said flexible gripping means will be in engagement with one set of teeth on said head.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PATRICK J OS. MCGUIRE. Witnesses:

WILLIAM ORR, WILLIAM ONEILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

